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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pound — a weight
  4. chest — a box
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. spring — the season
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — of water
  24. pit — a hole

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com